Trio of newspapers buck Scots sales trend

THREE major titles – the Sunday edition of the Daily Star of Scotland, the i and the Independent on Sunday – last month bucked the trend of falling newspaper sales in Scotland.

According to the latest set of figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulation, sales in Scotland of the Daily Star of Scotland – Sunday during last month were up an average 68.2 per cent up on a year ago. It now stands alone among those newspapers to appear to have gained sales from the closure of the News of the World last year. Twelve months ago, its average sale in Scotland was 24,172. Now, it is 40,665.

The i continues its recent good fortune in Scotland, seeing its year-on-year sales figure in Scotland up 47.2 per cent. The Independent on Sunday’s figure was 0.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, the relatively recently-launched The Scottish Sun on Sunday sold, last month, an average 217,948 copies. During May, it was an average 224,861.

In summary, the daily newspapers figures – issued at midday – concern sales in Scotland between June 2011 and last month and reveal the following:

Daily Mirror – 10.3 per cent drop = from 24,053 on average in June 2011, to 21,572 last month;

Daily Record – nine per drop = from 278,143 on average in June 2011, to 253,047 last month;

Daily Star of Scotland – 12.3 per cent drop = 67,083 to 58,814;

The Scottish Sun – 5.6 cent drop = 325,325 to 306,930;

Scottish Daily Express – 6.7 per cent drop = 66,013 to 61,616;

Scottish Daily Mail – 7.3 per cent drop = 111,857 to 103,590;

Daily Telegraph – 8.2 per cent drop = 21,333 to 19,580;

Financial Times – 18.4 per cent drop = 3,668 to 2,990;

The Herald – 8.2 per cent drop = 48,278 to 44,283;

The Guardian – 9.8 per cent drop = 13,197 to 11,901;

i – 47.2 per cent up = 11,528 to 16,968;

Independent – 42.7 per cent drop = 7,649 to 4,382;

The Scotsman – 11.9 per cent drop = 39,853 to 35,077; and

The Times – 7.3 per cent drop = 20,513 to 19,004.

Meanwhile, the Sunday titles’ sales figures in Scotland were as follows:

Daily Star of Scotland – Sunday – 68.2 per cent up = 24,172 to 40,665;

Sunday Mail – 13.2 per cent down = 329,237 to 285,519;

Sunday Mirror – 2.7 per cent down = 22,954 to 22,340;

The People – 13.2 per cent down = 13,123 to 11,395;

Scottish Sunday Express – 0.03 per cent down = 34,590 to 34,577;

The Sunday Post – 11.7 per cent drop = 213,190 to 188,131;

Scottish Mail on Sunday – 4.6 per cent down = 96,647 to 92,237;

Independent on Sunday – 0.3 per cent up = 6,629 to 6,647;

The Observer – 5.4 per cent down = 16,749 to 15,837;

Scotland on Sunday – 14 per cent down = 48,630 to 41,827;

Sunday Herald – 10.4 per cent down = 29,115 to 26,074;

Sunday Telegraph – 3.5 cent down = 17,661 to 17,033; and

Sunday Times – 9.49 per cent down = 55,512 to 50,243.